Amsterdam knife attacker was Ukrainian from Donetsk, say police
The man suspected of stabbing five people in the centre of Amsterdam is a 30-year-old Ukrainian national from the eastern Donetsk region largely controlled by Russia, Dutch police say.
Officers said they were still unclear about the motive for the attack, near the busy Dam Square on Thursday afternoon.
The suspect, who reportedly used multiple knives, was named as Roman D by Dutch media, which had earlier said he was from Eastern Europe.
He had false identity papers on him with multiple names when he was arrested, which made it difficult for police to establish who he was. It is unclear whether he is from the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk.
Femke Halsema, the mayor of Amsterdam, said: 'The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to get more clarity soon about the background of this horrible stabbing'.
The Ukrainian, who police said had checked into an Amsterdam hotel on Wednesday, will be brought before a judge on April 1 to decide on his further detention. Investigations are continuing.
He is under strict guard at a prison hospital after suffering injuries to his leg when he was tackled by bystanders, including an unnamed British tourist. He was not questioned immediately after the attack because of his injuries.
Footage of the Briton, who has asked not to be named, chasing the suspect was widely shared online. He pinned the suspect down just off Dam Square, kneeling on top of him as he waited for police to arrive.
On Friday, Ms Halsema thanked the man for his actions and awarded him the city's heldenspeld – which means hero's badge – for bravery at her official residence.
'He is a very modest British man,' she told the Amsterdam news channel AT5. 'He has no desire to become famous. He is now mainly concerned with the victims, he feels responsible for them.'
The victims were a 26-year-old man from Poland, a 73-year-old Belgian woman, a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam, and two American nationals: a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man.
The Polish man had been released from hospital by Friday, while the other victims remained in hospital but in a stable condition, police said.
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